Ipswich Borough Council has commissioned artist Les Bicknell to transform one of Ipswich's best known buildings during renovation work.
Les's striking but simple concept of a landscape dominated by cornfields and Suffolk sky will shroud the Corn Exchange from August until spring 2009 during a £1million refurbishment project.
His concept links neatly with the history of the Corn Exchange building, which was originally used for the sale of corn. The 50 metre artwork has been composed of images of Suffolk skys and corn fields captured and manipulated by the artist so that within the abstract forms figurative imagery can be found and imagined. The sky feels full of creatures from myth and legend.
"People who visit the town centre will be transported to a very rural space. It's a celebration of the experience of travelling through rural areas and vast expanses of land. It's a reminder of what we are surrounded by, what it means to live in Suffolk for many people," said Les.
To coincide with the project a corresponding display of work titled - threads: mapped - the other stuff that's going on while wrapping the Corn Exchange, will be shown at the Town Hall Galleries from 6 August. It will attempt to illustrate the numerous connections within an artist's activity; what they are looking at, thinking about and working on while one part of what they do is made public.
Les has exhibited widely; most recently at The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, The Crafts Council Gallery, London, The Chicago Centre for Book and Paper and St James Cavalier, Centre for Creativity, Valletta Malta.